Conveyor for shopping carts

ABSTRACT

In a multifloor department store, floor-to-floor conveying means for customer carts comprising a pair of moving belts disposed laterally of the cart conveying path, grippers being carried by the belts to automatically engage the carts.

United States Patent Weller [4 1 Apr. 11, 1972 [5 1 CONVEYOR FORSHOPPING CARTS [56] References Cited [72] inventor: Wilhelm Weller,Linderhausen, Germany UNITED STATES PATENTS Assignee: Messrs- Transpomecni Gm Gevel- 3,395,784 8/1968 Kararek ..198/134 x sberg, Germany I3,446,3i5 5/1969 Close l 86/] .l C [221 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS[211 PP" 25,508 403,224 6/1966 Switzerland 1 86/1 .1 c 1,249,765 9/1967Germany ..186/ 1.1 C [30] Foreign Application Priority Data PrimaryExaminer-Joseph WegbreIt Apr. 18, l969 Germany ..P l9 l9 740.1 AtmmeywatsonCole'Grindle & Watson [52] us. Cl. ..186/1AC l98/l6 R 57 ABSTRACT51 Int. Cl ..nss 17/22 1 I [58] Field at Search ..186/1 AC, 1 C; 198/16,18, n a mu fl department store, fl r-t -floor conveying means forcustomer carts comprising a pair of moving belts disposed laterally ofthe cart conveying path, grippers being carried by the belts toautomatically engage the carts.

PATENTEBAPR 1 1 I972 SHEET 1 [1F 2 PATENTED PR 11 m2 3,655,013

SHEET 2 (1F 2 l I l I i l l Invenim' B l/X/L 21162777 WGZZBF CONVEYORFOR SHOPPING CARTS The invention relates to conveying means fortransport of shopping carriages or carts between different floors ofmultifloor department stores although the application of the inventionis not limited to such purpose. The conveying means comprises conveyorchains or belts for conveying the carts upwardly or downwardly. Thecarriages which have a different track gauge for the front and rearwheels so that the conveying means are therefore being provided with onetrack each for the front wheels and the rear wheels, and the tracks aredisposed at different inclined levels, with the result that the cartsmaintain at least substantially their horizontal position during theconveyance along an inclined path or track.

Conveying means for this purpose comprise a vertically disposed chain orbelt with engaging pieces which extend through a slot in the floor of aninlet gate through which the conveyor is accessible. The centralarrangement of the chain, however, results in considerable drawbacks.First of all the central slot becomes clogged with liquids or dustygoods lost from damaged packages, as the result of the cart, forexample, overturning, and has an overall tendency for becomingcontaminated, thereby necessitating frequent cleaning. Further, itbecomes quite risky for the cart during downward conveying because thecart can be moved in almost any direction in the inlet gate before theengaging pieces grip the cart whereby, very often, the cart will tumbledown from the gate or track. Attempts have been made to prevent suchaccidents by providing of stop means for the cart which disengagetherefrom upon arrival of the engaging member. Moreover, the engagingmember extending through the floor and returning thereinto havefrequently led to accidents in which customers were involved,particularly children.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide conveyingmeans which avoid these drawbacks so that accidents are substantiallyprevented, and so that awkward handling of the carts will not involvethe danger of tumbling the cart down the conveyor or stairs.

The conveyor according to the invention is characterized in that twoconveyor chains or belts are provided laterally disposed in relation tothe conveying path, said belts moving in synchronism and being providedwith engagement pieces laterally engaging said carriages fortransporting them therebetween. This carriage, once moved between thetwo chains or belts, will be immediately gripped by the engaging piecesfacing each other, the engaging pieces or members preferably being inthe form of rubber plugs and holding the carriage during the entiretransporting procedure. At the end of the conveyor path, the cart willbe released by swinging away from the rubber plugs so that the carriagemay be pulled clear off the chains.

The plugs should be disposed in closely adjacent pitch so that anyidling of the carts is prevented. Normally, the plugs will simply engagethe vertical structure of the cart, thereby insuring the safe andaligned guiding of the latter.

Further objects of the invention will be apparent from the followingdescription when considered in connection with the accompanying drawingsin which;

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the conveying means according tothe invention, and

FIG. 2 is a top view of a portion of the structure conveying means ofFIG. 1 on an enlarged scale.

Referring first to FIG. 1, numeral 1 designates the lower floor to whichthe shopping cart 2 is to be conveyed in an upstanding horizontalposition. For this purpose, rolling tracks or rails 5 and 6 are providedfor the front wheels 3 and rear wheels 4, respectively, the track gaugeof the front wheels being smaller by design than that of the rearwheels. The transport of the cart 2 requires two laterally disposedendless conveyor chains 7 which are provided with engaging members inthe form of rubber plugs or knobs 8. The endless conveyor chains 7 movecontinuously and in synchronism with each other so that each cart 2introduced, for example, from the right-hand in the direction of arrowA, see FIG. 2, is gripped,

by the oppositely facing plugs 8 as soon as the vertical structure bars9 of the can has been brought in the engagement range of the plugs 8. Arelatively small pitch is chosen for the plugs, for example, 2 inches(=50 mm).

A conveyor of the type described has the advantages that a customer maysimply move his cart into the guide means which are provided, shown inFIG. 2 but not designated with a reference number, and the customer maythen release the handle 11 of the cart without any risk because the cartwill automatically come in the gripping range of the rubber plugs orknobs 8 by means of the bars 9.

A common drive unit 10, FIG. 1 is provided for both the conveyor chains7 so that they revolve and travel synchronously with the result that anyinclination or tilting of the carts is prevented. IN order to obviateany danger of accidents, the chains are protected by housings madepreferably of plastic material and provided with a narrow slot throughwhich the engaging pieces may pass.

It will be understood that various modifications may be provided as tothe embodiments shown and described without departing from the spirit ofthe invention. For example, the inner runs adjacent the conveying pathof two belts may be provided with a surface suitable to act as engagingmeans in contact with the cart, a laterally applied force being exertedto said inner run to insure proper control of the movement. For thispurpose, the inner run of the belt may be supported laterally by aspring loaded guide so that the inner chain runs, in their non-operativestate, spaced from each other a distance smaller than the width of thecart at its level to be engaged. Upon insertion of the cart, the runswill be expanded so that the springs apply a suitably calculatedengagement force to the belt runs in engagement with the cart.

I claim:

l. Conveying means for conveying upwardly and downwardly, respectively,shopping carts along conveying path from one floor to the other instores or the like, having a multiplicity of floors, comprising tracksof different track gauge for front and rear wheels of the cart, saidtracks being at different levels for said front and rear wheels,respectively, and conveyor means with engaging pieces, said conveyormeans being disposed only laterally with respect to the conveying path,and said engaging pieces laterally engaging said carts for transportingthem therebetween.

2. Conveying means according to claim I, in which the conveyor meanscomprise endless belts looped about rollers, the axes of which aredisposed substantially perpendicular with respect to the conveying path.

3. Conveying means according to claim 1, in which the conveyor means areprovided with rubber plugs serving as nose clutches in engagement withthe carts.

4. Conveying means according to claim 1, in which a housing is providedcovering the entire conveying means and being provided with a slotthrough which the engagement elements extend.

5. Conveying means according to claim 1, in which the con veying meansis in the form of a belt, the surface of which adjacent the cart to beconveyed being designed to act as engagement means when subjected to aforce laterally applied to the belt in the direction of the conveyingpath.

6. in a multifloor building, means for floor-to-floor conveying of cartscomprising inclined track means for guiding wheels of said carts along aconveying path, endless means being provided only laterally with respectto said path for engaging said carts with their inner runs to apply acontrolled moving force thereto.

7. A trackway for sue between floors in a building comprising a doubletrack for conveying carts from one floor to the other of the building,said track being set at at least two different gages to accommodate atleast two pairs of wheels of different widths relative to each pair, andmeans being provided only along the side of at least one track to engageand move the wheeled vehicles on the trackway.

8. A trackway according to claim 7 in which said means are provided oneach side of the trackway adapted to engage and move the wheeledvehicles.

1. Conveying means for conveying upwardly and downwardly, respectively,shopping carts along conveying path from one floor to the other instores or the like, having a multiplicity of floors, comprising tracksof different track gauge for front and rear wheels of the cart, saidtracks being at different levels for said front and rear wheels,respectively, and conveyor means with engaging pieces, said conveyormeans being disposed only laterally with respect to the conveying path,and said engaging pieces laterally engaging said carts for transportingthem therebetween.
 2. Conveying means according to claim 1, in which theconveyor means comprise endless belts looped about rollers, the axes ofwhich are disposed substantially perpendicular with respect to theconveying path.
 3. Conveying means according to claim 1, in which theconveyor means are provided with rubber plugs serving as nose clutchesin engagement with the carts.
 4. Conveying means according to claim 1,in which a housing is provided covering the entire conveying means andbeing provided with a slot through which the engagement elements extend.5. Conveying means according to claim 1, in which the conveying means isin the form of a belt, the surface of which adjacent the cart to beconveyed being designed to act as engagement means when subjected to aforce laterally applied to the belt in the direction of the conveyingpath.
 6. In a multifloor building, means for floor-to-floor conveying ofcarts comprising inclined track means for guiding wheels of said cartsalong a conveying path, endless means being provided only laterally withrespect to said path for engaging said carts with their inner runs toapply a controlled moving force thereto.
 7. A trackway for sue betweenfloors in a building comprising a double track for conveying carts fromone floor to the other of the building, said track being set at at leasttwo different gages to accommodate at least two pairs of wheels ofdifferent widths relative to each pair, and means being provided onlyalong the side of at least one track to engage and move the wheeledvehicles on the trackway.
 8. A trackway according to claim 7, in whichsaid means are provided on each side of the trackway adapted to engageand move the wheeled vehicles.